Tracking cancer hospitalizations: seventeen-year sex-specific trends in nationally representative hospitalization data on malignant neoplasms in Thailand (2007–2023)

BackgroundMalignant neoplasms remain a major public health concern in Thailand, as in several countries. There is limited research that has explored long-term sex-specific trends utilizing national hospital-based data. MethodsThis retrospective descriptive study examines 17 years of inpatient data obtained from publicly available sources from the Ministry of Public Health website, focusing on nine malignancy groups and 31 malignant neoplasm subtypes, classified by ICD-10 codes. The study aims to provide important insights into sex-specific patterns by presenting prevalence rates, illustrating trends, and differences between males and females over time.ResultsThe study revealed clear differentiation between sexes. Both males and females had the highest prevalence rates for ill-defined or secondary cancers (males:361.39; females: 379.33 per 100,000 population) by 2023. However, the subsequent ranking differed by sex. In males, the next most prevalent cancers over 100 per 100,000 population were gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, including liver (141.20), colon (139.53), and rectosigmoid junction and related organ cancers (111.70). In contrast, for females, breast cancer (184.58) and colon cancer (119.30), respectively, ranked highest.ConclusionsThis 17-year study highlights sex differences in cancer hospitalizations in Thailand, with men more affected by gastrointestinal, lung, and blood cancers, and women by breast and reproductive malignancies. The findings support targeted health policies and cancer health promotion and prevention efforts.